Marijuana is the most widely available and abused illicit drug in the Arizona
HIDTA region. Additionally, the distribution and abuse of methamphetamine pose a
serious drug-related concern to law enforcement officials because of the drug's
widespread availability, highly addictive nature, association with violence, and
apparent appeal to youth. According to the 2006 Arizona Youth
Survey,8
the most recent survey of its kind available, 4.3 percent of Arizona teenagers between
the ages of 13 and 17 have tried methamphetamine. This figure is almost twice the
national average.

Arizona Meth Project Launched

In response to high levels of methamphetamine abuse within Arizona, the
state Attorney General's office launched a media public awareness campaign
called Arizona Meth Project (AMP) that targets junior and senior high school
students, young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, and parents. The purpose
of the campaign is to graphically communicate to potential methamphetamine
users the risks of methamphetamine use and to substantially reduce it. Six
of the Arizona HIDTA region counties, Cochise, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave,
Pinal, and Yuma, are involved in the media campaign.

Cocaine and heroin are also abused within the HIDTA region, but to a lesser degree
than marijuana and methamphetamine. Powder cocaine and crack are readily available
in the region as is MBT; these drugs are abused to varying degrees throughout the
area.

The Arizona HIDTA region's proximity to Mexico and its role in national and regional
level drug trafficking render the area a significant money laundering center for
Mexican DTOs. Mexican DTOs typically consolidate illicit proceeds generated in the
region at stash locations, combine them with funds generated in other regions of
the country, and transport the proceeds in bulk to Mexico. They generally smuggle
bulk cash in hidden compartments of private and commercial vehicles that are driven
through POEs. Mexican DTOs also smuggle bulk currency in commercial and private
aircraft, by couriers on passenger bus lines, and through the use of package delivery
services. According to the Arizona Attorney General's Office, once bulk cash arrives
in Mexico from Arizona, it is often deposited into a Mexican bank and/or a casa
de cambio9
and then repatriated to the United States through electronic wire transfers or bulk
cash transportation by armored car or courier services.

Mexican DTOs often launder large sums of illicit drug proceeds through money
transmitters throughout the United States. Many wire transmitters send funds to
the Southwest Border area, including the Arizona HIDTA region. Once the funds arrive
in the HIDTA region, DTO members or accomplices collect the funds and often transport
them to local stash houses for consolidation. The funds, in the form of bulk cash
shipments, are then smuggled into Mexico. Law enforcement officials report that
such wire transfers are common in the region, but that they are occurring less frequently
than in previous years. The Arizona Attorney General's Office reports that effective
law enforcement efforts that targeted drug and alien traffickers who rely on wire
transfers for money laundering purposes forced the traffickers to reroute transfers.
Many traffickers now avoid Arizona and electronically wire transfer their drug proceeds
to other U.S. destinations or directly to Mexico.

DTOs, gangs, and independent dealers operating in the Arizona HIDTA region also
launder illicit proceeds through a variety of other methods. They commonly commingle
illicit proceeds with funds from legitimate businesses, such as automobile dealerships,
retail stores, real estate companies, and restaurants. These groups or individuals
also purchase high-value assets, such as luxury residences and vehicles.

End Notes

8.
The 2006 Arizona Youth Survey was administered from
January through April of 2006 in Arizona public and charter schools. This statewide
effort encompassed all 15 counties and 362 schools, which resulted in the participation
of 60,401 eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students throughout Arizona.9. Casas de cambio located in Mexico are nonbank
financial institutions (currency exchangers) that provide a variety of financial
services and are highly regulated by the Mexican Government. As of March 2007, 24
casas de cambio were registered with Mexico's Federal Income Secretary.